The old biometric passports remain valid until 2030.
However, holders of the old biometric passports can switch to the Chip-embedded Passports any time before 2030 whether their passport has expired or not.
The rollout of the new Chip-embedded passports is a public private partnership between the Government of Ghana and BTS Group.
The official switch from biometric passports to Chip-embedded passports was performed by Mr Julius Debrah, the Chief of Staff at the Presidency in Accra.
Mr Debrah, in his address, noted that it required bold leadership to bring about transformation in organizations.
“If you are sent to a place and as I heard everybody talking that this process has been rolling for over 10 years, all it needed to be done was one person to grab the bull by the horn and say I challenge the process let it happen,” he stated.
Mr Debrah, who urged leaders to be innovative, further hailed the collaboration between the Passport Office and the Ghana Post Company for the distribution of the 70,000 uncollected passports to their right owners through courier services.
“I don’t think it’s been written in any manual or book that form a partnership with them so that passports could be delivered to applicants right in the comfort of their home and I thought we should acknowledge that,” he said.
“All my colleagues that have been privileged to serve at various institutions, we should always let common sense prevail. Be very practicable, be very innovative, that is what brings progress to governance.”
Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, said President John Dramani Mahama and former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo had already received their Chip-embedded passports.
He noted that steps were being taken to ensure that former President John Agyekum Kufuor was issued with one.
“Today is the day Ghana embarks on the most far reaching and progressive passport reforms ever experienced in our country’s entire history”.
“Today we end the frustration, we end the unacceptable waiting period for passports, we end the reign of “goro boys,” we end the phenomenon of over 70,000 uncollected passports which I inherited as Minister.”
Today we Reset and usher in a new era of modernization, convenience and respect for the Ghanaian visa applicant.”
He said the event was a demonstration, in very practical terms, of the first ever mass roll out of the Chip-Embedded Passports and the readiness to implement progressive reforms.
Mr Ablakwa said there had been much talk of Chip-Embedded passports since 2010 when ICAO asked countries to prepare to meet its new requirements consistent with regulations DOC 9303, but this is the first time Ghana was having a mass roll out.
The Minister outlined six major reforms the Ministry was embarking upon, namely switching from the current biometric passports to chip-embedded passports; commencement of 24-Hour Operations at the Passport Head Office; Start direct passport delivery at your convenience through courier service led by Ghana Post and Troskit, activating an E-Tracking System to allow all passport applicants to track their applications from beginning to receiving their passports in the comfort of their homes or offices and pledging to deliver under 15 days for ordinary applications and under five days for expedited applications.
The rest are reducing Application Fee from GHS500 to GHS350, which had been approved by Cabinet and awaiting Parliamentary approval and the roll out of yet another generational passport – marks a significant milestone in the history of Ghana’s document security space.
He also mentioned the dynamic nature and the constant evolution of crimes perpetrated with traveling, security and identity require an even more advanced approach in the design, production and acquisition of these valuable state documents.
Touching of the reduction of passport application fees from GH¢500.00 to GH¢300.00, Mr Ablakwa said in line with the Fees and Charges law, when Parliament resumes, the House would pass a law to approve the new passport application fees, before it could take effect.
Mr Ablakwa said as Ghana roles out its first Chip-embedded Polycarbonate (PC) biographical data-page passport, equipped with the highest latent and patent security inputs, the sector players, end users and regulators within the document security management setup were assured of robust security features that are almost impossible to forge.
He said the use of state-of-the art multi-layer compressed polymer (Polycarbonate) with a minimum lifespan covering the validity period of the passport as a base substrate for the biographical data page guarantees the integrity of the booklet against the conventional document crimes of forgeries and unauthorized falsifications of variable personal data.
GNA
